AirAsia has become the title sponsor of the
Caterham Moto Racing Team, which is ready to make its debut in the
2014 Moto2 World Championship, part of the world renowned MotoGP
World Championship series.
AirAsia Berhad CEO, Aireen Omar said, “We are
very proud to be the title sponsor of this exciting new team and
look forward to continuing our partnership with Caterham, a team
with a great racing pedigree known for innovation. There’s a lot
of synergy in our brands and we look forward to being a part of
the team, and to a successful season ahead.”
AirAsia-Caterham Moto Racing also unveiled its new 600cc
four-stroke Moto2 racing machine and racing leathers with AirAsia livery, and introduced their two Moto2TM riders, Johann Zarco and Josh Herrin, for the team’s inaugural racing season.
Both riders will race under the supervision of Johan Stigefelt as
Team Manager.
Team Principal of Caterham Moto Racing, Mia
Sharizman, said, “Two-wheeled motorsport is a new venture for Caterham Group and one that we believe will be a long term
project. It is an exciting time for us and I would like to thank AirAsia for the opportunity. It is great to see their
development and commitment to the sport from initially supporting
an event, to their backing of Malaysian rider Zulfahmi Khairuddin
who will compete in Moto3 class this year. I believe our
partnership with AirAsia as a Moto2 team is the next progressive
step and will provide an excellent opportunity to develop up and
coming Asian riders on a worldwide branding platform. The team is
in high spirits and we hope to show our gratitude to AirAsia
throughout the year by achieving good results.”
AirAsia’s first foray into the world of MotoGP started with
home-grown success
Zulfahmi Khairuddin representing the airline’s
effort in nurturing local talents to achieve world-class success. Zulfahmi, who raced under the AirAsia-SIC banner as a wildcard
entrant at the 2009 Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix, has bloomed
into a world-class racer, with the airline dynamically supporting
his development for the past 4 years.
“When AirAsia first
started, many people doubted our existence and predicted our fall.
But after 12 years, we proved all the skeptics wrong and attained
various accomplishments and became the world’s best. We hope that
the AirAsia-Caterham Moto Racing Team derives inspiration from our
success story and becomes a force to be reckoned with in motor racing,”
added Aireen Omar.
AirAsia,
Caterham,
MotoGP
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